Abstract
Madrid has experienced a significant integration of Latin American immigrant women in its domestic service labor market since 2005. The general sentiment among Madrileños is that the phenomenon benefits both Spanish working mothers and immigrant women. We explored the Spanish government’s goals of gender equality and some of the realities of domestic working conditions. Subsequently, we asked the question: Do gender equality policies of Madrid’s local government exclude and marginalize Latin American immigrant women in the domestic service sector or to what extent do they benefit such women? Through survey data, personal interviews with Latin American women in the domestic service sector, and a review of literature on gender equality theory, we found that the local government’s priorities on gender equality are contradictory and myopic. Even though domestic workers report relative respect and economic gains, they experience the effects of inequality under the law and limited opportunities for advancement.
DOI
10.5642/urceu.201801.11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Salazar, Zabdi J.
(2018)
"Paradoxes of Gender Equality Policies and Domestic Working Conditions in Madrid,"
Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union:
Vol. 2018, Article 11.
DOI: 10.5642/urceu.201801.11
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2018/iss1/11
Included in
International and Area Studies Commons, International Relations Commons, Women's Studies Commons